To Live Again
by Kukuracha Jack
Summary: FMAxReal World AU. After making Alphonse the Philosopher's Stone, Scar becomes the Gate's agent, and finds himself in the middle of a new war.
1. Ultimate Truth

This is my first fanfic. Scar gets a bad deal with mostly oneshots and drabbles, so I decided to write something longer. I do not own FMA or the real world, even in AU.

**To Live Again**

**Ultimate Truth**

Pain.

That was too small a word. Agony.

That was the first things that registered in the man's mind. Overwhelming agony, especially in his right arm.

'_Wait a minute'_ he thought. _'Arm?'_ He looked down. There was his arm, with the sinner's marks he had come to accept and despise, and thought he had succeeded in removing from his body.

'… _what happened… did the transfer fail?'_

"No," said a chorus of voices behind him, "It succeeded. And he has his body, but not his memories of the past four years. We thought that the pain of losing his brother would be bad enough without remembering all the suffering. He gave up enough. Equivalent exchange you see. Suffering earned him his rest."

The marked man turned. Before him was a black door, decorated with a heavily ornate tree, and a huge eye. "Who are you? Show yourself!"

"I/we am/are Emes (1), the Great Truth of the worlds. I am All and we are One, and I/we control the ebb and flow of life."

The man got angry. "I am a follower the one true god! Do not tell me your lies!"

"Do you still believe that, mortal? You asked that I/we show my/ourself/ves (2). Behold!" The black door opened, and the man was pulled in by a wall of black tentacles. The door shut.

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The man lay gasping on the ground before the black door, his mind filled with the knowledge that would send a lesser person berserk with grief and rage. "So it was all a lie… a lie… all that suffering…"

"I/we am/are just the moderator, and have no control over such things. But you are being given a second chance at life. You are needed. Your skill, your determination, your desire for justice will serve you well. And… I/we need a favor…"

"What?" snapped the man.

"The door is a portal between the worlds. One man has succeeded in getting past without our permission, and is upsetting the balance between the worlds. I/we cannot bring people before the Gate, each person must come on his own. I/we can do nothing. An emissary, a great warrior is needed."

"Equivalent exchange – your own words. What will I get in return?"

His answer was the sensation of falling, a loud cry of "Allah-hu Akbar!", a white-hot explosion, the feeling of metal being stabbed through his flesh. His last conscious thought was that Emes needed to learn that asking for more detail was not the same as saying yes.

'_Stupid Emes…'_

_--------------------------------------------- _

Pain.

Not the same pain as before. This pain was all over his body, and nowhere near as intense as what he had felt before the Gate.

Something was wrong with his eyes. Everything was black. He thought about it some more.

'_A cloth… over my eyes… why?'_

Thinking gave him a headache. He dropped back to sleep.

He awoke a few more times to blackness. He could hear a soft beeping.

'_What's that?'_ He tried to get up, but the pain, which had subsided, flared up, making him grunt. He was wrapped in bandages, some of which felt wet. Blood. He decided that going back to sleep would be a good idea.

'_At least I'm not tied down…'_

_------------------------------------------- _

When he woke up a few hours later, he could see dim light shining from under his blindfold. He could hear people talking outside his room.

"Mumble records found mumble mumble –ide bomber mumble mumble lucky to be alive mumble his eyes, scarring, mumble…"

The door opened.

"Where…" he rasped. His throat felt like sandpaper.

"You're awake? Good. You are in the hospital. A suicide bomber blew himself up. We found you only a few inches from the blast center, believe it or not. You are phenomenally lucky to be alive. By the way, I am Dr. Glustein, and I will be treating you while you are here."

"Water… please…"

"Of course." The doctor moved to a corner of the room. He picked up what sounded like a telephone. "The patient in room 663 is awake and cognitive. Please send a nurse with water." He turned to the man in the bed. "You will be taken care of. In any case, I would like to examine you while we wait. Are you up to answering a few questions?"

"Yes."

"What is your name?"

"… Scar." Dr. Glustein hmmmmed, and Scar heard a pencil scratching on paper, but the doctor made no comment.

"Home?"

"… I… It… Hard to explain…"

"Last thing you remember?"

"… The Gate… Emes…"

Scar could tell that the doctor was amused by this answer.

"Oh, I believe you're telling me the truth, don't worry about that." A chuckle. "Most patients are slightly confused after experiencing severe trauma, and some claim to have seen the end of the tunnel. No need to worry."

"…"

The door opened again, and Scar registered the new presence as a young woman, even before Dr. Glustein greeted her.

"Hello Shoshana. Do you have the ice and fresh bandages?"

"Yes doctor."

Something about the voice seemed familiar to Scar. His thoughts were interrupted as something cold and hard was pressed against his lips.

"You won't be able to drink fluids just yet, so you'll have to eat ice chips for now."

'_Ice?'_ He tasted the piece that was in his mouth. It was cold and wet, and started to melt into cold refreshing water. When he swallowed, another chip was ready. He downed each piece eagerly, still to worn out to be embarrassed by his weakened condition.

He was too tired to stay awake, however. He fell back into dreamless sleep.

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Colonel Ronen ben-Aish watched the monitor in front of him.

"Let me get this straight. In this footage, the man is appearing _from_ the explosion?"

"Yes," replied Lieutenant Hajji . "He is not seen from any other camera, at any time. As the bomber detonates, you can see the flash. After the explosion, the man is found lying a mere foot from the epicenter. What makes it even more confusing is _this_."

Now the video clip was running at one-tenth normal speed.

"See the circle?"

The colonel leaned forward. "Play again. Freeze on this frame." The video was replayed.

On the screen, a circle appeared, not as the outer edge of the blast, but after the explosion itself as a ring of red light. What were those symbols? And now he saw it. The strange man appeared with the circle, just as the flash was fading. It was almost like…

"A… magic portal?"

"The scientists have no explanation for it."

"Where is the man now?"

"In the Elric-Einstein Hospital, here in Ramallah."

"Let's go get some answers."

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Emes – Lit., 'truth'

Well, that's my first chapter. RxR please!


	2. Rude Awakening

**To Live Again**

**Rude Awakening**

BLAM!

The sound penetrated Scar's slumber. He could hear more shots close by, and the sound of several explosions.

"I can see that he's injured! Now unhook him from the damn machines, and wheel him out the door! You wanna end up like Doctor Hero there!"

"Please…" A woman's voice.

"NOW!" A man's voice, older. Scar could smell smoke coming from the direction of the voice.

Scar opened his eyes to slits. The bandages around his head had been removed. He could make out several blurry shapes. Something told him it would be a bad idea to start getting up just yet.

"GET OUT you stupid woman! Agba! Mohammed! Get in here! Take this man with the other hostages!" The man stormed out of the room, dragging the protesting woman. Two other men entered. They strode to the head of the bed.

"Why keep him alive? We have enough hostages already." A whiny voice, to the left.

"More live 'uns now means we can take our time making our statement." An older, harsher voice on the right."

"Alright, alright, but this guy looks like he'd be dangerous if he wakes up."

"Don't tell me you're scared t'die, are yeh?" An evil chuckle, and the bed began to shift. "Tie him down if you want. And then I shoot you. Quit wastin' time."

The noise in the hall had quieted, the initial attack over. Scar had been assessing his condition. Good enough. He'd functioned while in worse condition. He moved.

Mohammed never knew what hit him.

Scar's eyes snapped open, and his right arm shot up to grasp Mohammed's ugly face. A flash of red light, and his head imploded. Scar rolled left, to face Agba, who was backing away. Not fast enough. A second flash of red. Two bodies hit the floor. Scar sat up, fighting off a wave of dizziness. He swung his feet over the side, and stood up, holding onto a pole as he got his bearings.

He was naked, except for bandages around his torso and left shoulder, and more around his thighs and calves. He looked at the bodies on the floor. Agba had been taller. Scar took his pants.

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Ben-Aish received the emergency broadcast over the jeep's radio.

"_Attention all personnel! The Crimson Brigade has taken control of the Elric-Einstein Hospital. All on-duty units, report!"_

The message continued to repeat itself.

"Crimson Brigade! Damn!"

The Crimson Brigade was not a band of suicidal cannon-fodder; they were an organized, disciplined mercenary team, who sold themselves to whoever had the most money. They had the backing of _eight_ Arab countries, who of course claimed that they were just another terrorist cell.

The group used enough bombers to make this claim credible to the media.

What was more worrisome, however, was the new commander, codenamed the Crimson Alchemist. He was ruthless and clever, his new bomb design slipping past every checkpoint and causing more deaths than any other bomb.

"Kahs, Nesher, Herres, Sharid, report!"(1)

"_Go ahead."_

"Status!"

"_Kahs. We are moving out from HQ."_

"_Nesher. I'll be on the roof to the East."_

"_Herres. I'll be with Nesher."_

"_Kahs. I have the building plans."_

"_Sharid. I'll have the heavy equipment."_

"Be there in ten minutes."

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Scar cautiously peered around the door. It was clear. He ghosted down the long white hallway, pausing every few steps to listen. Hearing footsteps, he quietly eased through a blank doorway, shutting the heavy door softly behind him. He was in a stairwell.

The contrast between this and the hallways was startling. The hallways had been neat, bright and clean… or would have been without the blood spatter and bodies. The stairwell was dark and gray, concrete, with exposed piping and vents.

Scar raced down a level, hoping to get to the ground floor. Hearing a noise from above, he hurredly looked for a hiding place. He saw a vent near the ground. It would have to do.

Scar popped out the grating, crawled inside, and pulled the grate shut. A few moments later, a pair of boots went rushing past.

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Bengazi was nervous. He had benn checking the rooms on the fourth floor, and found the bodies of a doctor and two comrades. He had told the commander over the radio. The commander had not been pleased at the early loss, but insisted that the mission continue as planned. Probably the doctor had gotten lucky and killed two before being taken down himself. Not to worry; they had enough bombs to secure the building against any attempts to rescue the hostages. Nobody would survive an attempt to retake the building.

Bengazi was not so sure. The skulls had not been damaged; it looked like tissue under the skull had been disintegrated. He had seen death many times, and knew many ways to kill a man, but nothing like this. Someone had entered the stairwell, but disappeared. Something was wrong. He would follow his orders, but he would keep extra notice of his surroundings.

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Sulamein was enjoying himself. He and his buddies had been given permission to take whichever women they wanted. The blond had been beaten to a pulp by the other men, but he was the first with this one. She had tried to resist, and he hit her on the head, stunning her. She was coming around now, and beginning to struggle again.

The ones who fought back were more fun. They could be shown just how helpless they were.

Scar could hear the screams coming from the opening ahead. As he got closer, he could also hear a man's voice laughing. He knew what was happening. He had seen it happen before, but had been helpless.

'_Not this time.'_

He eased forward until he could see down. What he could see sickened him. His right arm glowed red, and he dropped through the ceiling towards the man.

Sulamein was fast. He heard the ceiling above him groan, and dodged out of the way as the scarred man dropped through. Overcoming his surprise, he grabbed his knife and lunged.

Scar barely dodged the thrust. As it was, the blade tore off some flesh and bandages from his right obliques. He spun away to his right, grabbing the wrist, blowing off the hand. The knife hit the floor as his opponent leaped to the side, trying to draw his pistol with his other hand.

Sulamein had just enough time to clear his gun before Scar's hand rammed into his stomach. He felt a burning pain, and lost all sensation below his chest. Looking down in shock, he saw his legs topple over, and then his upper body hit the wall with a crash. The last thing he saw was the scarred man's red eyes glaring at him.

Scar turned away from the grisly remains to face the woman, who hastily tried to cover herself up.

"Get up." The woman whimpered.

Looking at the floor, he saw a green shirt and pants. Grabbing them, he tossed them to the woman.

"Get up and put them on. Someone will come looking for him. You have to move."

The woman stared at him wide-eyed. Then she nodded, and put on the scrubs, wincing when she saw the bloodstains on it.

Shoshana looked up, and saw that her rescuer had already left. Running out into the hallway, she saw him disappear around a corner. She chased after him.

"Wait!"

Scar turned and glared. "Quiet!" he hissed.

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(1) "Fury, Eagle, Havoc, Muscle" - The hebrew words for "hawk/eagle-eye" and "strong arm" wouldn't go well as names.

So, are these code names or real names? I'm open to suggestion.

RxR please!


	3. Calm Before the Storm

**To Live Again**

**Calm before the Storm  
**

The IDF forces had surrounded the hospital and gotten into their repective positions within minutes of arrival. Colonel ben-Aish rushed into the command tent. "What do we have?"

"Sir, twenty brigade members and five shahidim stormed the building, overwhelming the hospital guards. All guards are presumed dead. From those who escaped the initial carnage we learned that the bombs are Crimson Alchemist's. They removed life support from the ICU, killed any doctors who tried to save the patients. Anyone still mobile or movable has been moved to the fifth floor cafeteria. We estimate 150-200 hostages. We believe that levels B6 to three are wired to explode if anyone tries to get in," reported Corporal Furman.

"What's our status?"

"We have two snipers covering each side of the building. Minicams are attached to windows covering hallways. The terrorists cut all outside lines, and are running power from the emergency generators. We can't hack any of the hospital cameras."

"Have they made any demands yet?"

"No sir."

"Colonel! Take a look at this!" called Kahs. He pointed at one of the monitors on the wall. "East side, sixth floor. I'll replay it." On the screen, ben-Aish saw a tall bloody man wearing pants and wrapped in bandages leave one of the rooms. A few seconds later, a young woman, also covered in blood, ran out after him."

"Get me a closeup of the male."

"Yes sir." The black and white image zoomed in on the man's face.

"Freeze the image." It was the mystery man from the mall explosion two days ago, no doubt about it. His face had an 'X' shaped scar across his forehead and over his eyes. The other viewers' eyes were drawn to the man's right arm.

"That is one badass tattoo! And it looks like someone took offense to it and tried to cut the whole frickin' arm off!" exclaimed a private.

Looking at the tattoo, ben-Aish thought back to the mall explosion. "Hajji, are these markings and the ones at the mall attack the same?"

Hajji thought for a moment, then shook his head. "The two have some similarities in design, but none of the symbols match. In addition, the first set is arranged in a circle, while these marks are along the arm."

The colonel's musings were interrupted by an amplified voice.

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"_Hello, pigs. We have the hospital. You will obey our demands and prevent more bloodshed. Or you will refuse to listen, and the hostages will be killed."_

"Sniper teams! Can you see the speaker?"

_"That's a negative sir. He's using the outside PA system."_

The voice continued. _"We have the hospital. Any attempts to retake it will set off the bombs and the hostages will be killed. Any military helicopters and airplanes and the hostages will be killed. Any shots through the windows at my men and the hostages will be killed. Any attempt to bargain and I will kill one hostage per minute until the demand is met. You have been warned._

_The first demand is to bring members of the media to watch. They are to broadcast live. You have ten minutes."_

General Grumman turned to his aide. "We need more time to plan! Get a reporter here _now_!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inside the building, Scar could hear the demand for the media.

'_Why? Getting the public involved will give them a bad reputation. They should want to keep this quiet.'_

The woman's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Thank you…I thought he was going to… you know…"

Scar kept walking, the woman following him. "My name is Shoshana, by the way." Scar grunted. "Where are you going? Shouldn't we be looking for a way out?" Scar still didn't reply. He was examining a box on the wall that had two blinking lights, one red and one green. Wires ran from a lever on the side up and down the wall, and across the door.

"That's C4! We're trapped!"

"What's C4?" he asked. Shoshana stared at him in surprise.

"You don't know? That's high quality explosive! Where have you been?"

"I've seen bombs before, just not like this…" Scar replied, thinking back to Ishvar, "and as to where I was, I was on the other side of the Gate."

"You really shouldn't be up yet, your head is still injured and – "

"I'm fine!" Scar snarled. Shoshana backed away. "And if you really want to know, I'm not looking for a way out. I'm looking to kill whoever started this mess."

"But you're only one man! They have guns, and bombs…" her voice trailed off at the look in Scar's eyes.

"So? They are weak. They are slow. And I will kill them. As for this bomb…" he put his right hand on the box, which glowed red, then returned to normal.

Shoshana stared. "What did you do?"

"Alchemy." Hearing footsteps at the other end of the hallway, he grabbed Shoshana and pushed open a door. "In here."

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Bengazi stared at the bomb. Something was off about it. He cracked open the casing and saw...powder. He grabbed his radio as he began backing down the hallway. "Commander, this is Bengazi! Someone is in the building with us!" He looked to his left and saw an open door. Running in, he found the body of Sulamein. "Shit! Commander! Sulamein looks like he was torn apart by a lion!"

"_I'm sending down Hussein."_

"We don't need another man down here, we need to change the plan!"

Hussein burst out of the stairwell. Bengazi showed him the bomb, then the body and ceiling.

"Commander, we need to pull up one level and reorganize."

"_We will pull back to the surgery rooms. Conduct a full sweep of that floor, then come up."_

Bengazi looked at Hussein. "You heard him. Lets start."

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The Brigade's troop commander was mad. The attack had gone as planned, but he had lost three men in fifteen minutes. At this rate, the Israelis would have the job finished. How could his men have missed killing a guard? They were the only people in the hospital who could do something like this!

He looked at his watch. The Israeli pigs had five more minutes, but he was in a foul mood. He grabbed a hostage, a young boy, and walked to his broadcast equipment.

"I don't see the hospital on my television!" he screamed. "Now you will pay!" He dragged the crying, struggling boy into a room and over to a window, opened it and shoved the boy in front. He pulled out a pistol, and shot the boy in the head. The body tumbled out the window from the force of the bullet. The commander raced back to the speaker. "You have sixty seconds!" he screeched.

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Ben-Aish stared in shock at the body falling out the window. "North team, take the shot!"

"_That's a negative sir. We can't see a thing. The blinds are closed."_

The colonel swore. "What are we doing?" he demanded.

"_We need the time to plan, colonel. The reporter is two minutes away."_ Said Commander Grumman over the radio.

"We don't have _time_! We have thirty seconds before the next body comes tumbling out! My team is going in!"

"_Stay where you are! That's an order, colonel!"_

Ben-Aish threw his radio at the wall. "To _Gehinom_ with staying! We're moving out! We don't negotiate, we don't wait. We _act_!"

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Grumman swore. "That hot-headed son-of-a-_bitch_!"

Four quick shots sounded, followed by a tinkling of glass and the clang of metal falling. "He shot out the cameras!" shouted the aide.

'_He'll get all the hostages killed!'_ thought Grumman. He made a quick decision. "All units, retake the building!" _'and God have mercy on our souls. If we survive, ben-Aish will have hell to pay.'_

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _

When the two men burst in the door, Scar was ready. Diving from the far side of the hospital bed, he slammed the lead man back into his companion. Hussein never had a chance.

Bengazi, however, had seen the results of the scarred man's actions. He scrambled to his feet and desperately tried to bring his rifle to bear. He got three shots off on full automatic, which the charging man dodged. He swung the rifle butt around, trying to strike his opponent in the head, but the man ducked, and rammed into his knees, bring him to the floor. The man rammed his elbow into Bengazi's groin, incapacitating him, then reached for his head. Bengazi felt an enormous pressure in his skull right before he died.

"Was that…also…alchemy?" Shoshana shivered. "How do you…do…that…"

Scar shut his eyes as he thought back to the day he had received his curse. "Hopefully, you'll never have to find out…it's not supposed to work here…Ishvara forgive me…" He opened his eyes. "I wish I _didn't_ know how to do this!"

"…"

"I've killed many people…many deserved it…some could not be saved so I ended their suffering…_and in the end I created that thrice damned stone!_" Shoshana didn't say anything as Scar relived some of his worse memories.

The window in the hallway shattered and a tan-clad man wearing a combat vest and helmet smashed through. Scar had his hand on the man's face and was about to kill him when Shoshana shouted "WAIT!", and another man swung in from the zip line.

"They're friends! Oh god, we're safe!" and she broke down crying and laughing with relief.

"Explain" Scar growled "Now!"

The taller of the two men answered. "We don't have much time. The Crimson Brigade has begun killing hostages. We need to get to the first floor and disarm the bombs and find the hostages _fast_. We saw what you did on our cameras. This is the only floor we know is safe to enter on. Lets move!" This last was directed to his companion. They raced out the door towards the stairwell before Scar could say anything.

Scar looked at Shoshana. "Stay here" he ordered.

_'They won't be fast enough'_ he thought as he placed his hand on the floor. Thirty seconds later, all the bombs on the first floor were disarmed.

Scar was waiting when the two soldiers exited the stairs. "All done." The men gaped at him, then at the ceiling.

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Todah rabah, Alki'mai Derakon. Atah rishon! Atah ni'tze'ach! (Thank you, Dragon Alchemist. You're first! You win!)

So, adon Scar has a sense of humor, eh? It's OK litz'chok! And my Hebrew grammer is atrocious!

RxR please!

I should have said this earlier: I am not anti-Muslim, or anti-Arab. I have many Arab classmates and friends, and one of my co-workers is Palestinian. I also have friends in the IDF. Pray that the solution for peace does not involve an atomic wasteland.


	4. Weather the Storm

**To Live Again**

**Weather the Storm**

IDF forces began pouring through the front doors as Scar raced away and up the stairs. He would much rather work alone, and working with the military, even this one, left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Wait!" he heard someone shout. He ignored whoever it was. He had left Shoshana alone six floors up, and couldn't help but feel that something was wrong.

He trusted his intuition; it was usually correct.

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Crimson Commander was not pleased. He had just sent the fourth body tumbling out the window, when he got two urgent messages: One, the outside cameras had been shot out, and two, the discovery of the bodies of Bengazi and Hussein. The IDF was attacking, and they had some new device that could almost soundlessly demolish bodies and floors. He had sent Joe and Nata to find Bengazi and Hussein, and had come to see for himself when he heard their report over the radio.

"Start dropping gas and shrapnel bombs down there! Hold them back!" He began shouting into his radio, "Block the stairs! Sever the elevator cables! Each man grab five child hostages, and kill the rest! The IDF is coming in!"

Glass crashed in the next room. Nata and Joe began firing, killing the incoming soldiers. "We need to move!" They raced to the stairwell and headed up to the surgical level.

He looked at the woman they had found in this room. He considered killing her, but decided that having an older woman as a hostage would give him a better chance of escaping alive. She could be his mouthpiece, and she was big enough to use as a shield.

He had an escape route planned; he just needed time to put it in action.

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Ben-Aish and was in with the first wave of soldiers. He had seen the scarred man running to the stairs, and called for him to wait, but the man had either been unable to hear him or just ignoring him. It was too late to do anything, as gas and shrapnel grenades began tumbling down through the hole in the ceiling. "Gas masks!" he roared over the explosions. Those who were closest to the blasts had thrown themselves over the bombs to minimize casualties, but some explosives had escaped their grasps.

"You know the drill, get going!" Men began dispersing throughout the first level, seeking out booby traps and access to the upper levels.

"Don't worry about the bombs," said Sharid from behind him, voice muffled by his mask. "Mystery man somehow disarmed all of them. Take a look," and he held up a bomb casing. Opening it, ben-Aish could see that the C-4 had been turned to dust.

"Did he do this on all the levels?" wondering if there would be anything this man could not do.

"No sir, just this floor. He went through the ceiling, and took care of them all before we even got here."

"Alright, let's go up." A sudden thought struck him. "He doesn't have a mask!"

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Scar was racing up the stairs when a metallic egg came flying down at him. Recognizing the danger, he hurtled past it up the stairs, throwing himself across the steps as the grenade detonated on the flight below him. The stair were no longer usable. Remembering his first time, he crawled into the nearest vent, just as several canisters tumbled down, spewing gas. A trailing wisp of gas caught him, burning his throat and eyes. He scrambled farther into the shaft.

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The five men guarding the hostages got the message over their radios. They knew the drill. The children had already been separated from the older captives by room. Pulling on their gas masks, they radioed the countdown sequence to the gas bombs in the rooms, grabbed five children each, and marched up to the top levels, one man per floor.

They activated the booby traps and waited for the assault.

They also prepared the 'gifts'.

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Ben-Aish and his men were stuck. Each floor was rigged, but not enough to bring the building down. White gas obscured their vision, and the trip-wires, made of fishing line, were now totally obscured. C-4 explosives were tucked away in hard to reach crevices. Grenade clusters were strung across hallways. Blowing holes through the walls from the stairs to the hallways would trip booby traps; wires had been strung across the walls. Elevator shafts were blocked.

Further attempts to come in through the windows met with failure. Selecting a 'safe' window was playing a game of Russian Roulette; a good number of the windows had been rigged.

And the worst horrors were yet to come.

As he and his men raced through the hallways, ben-Aish kept his eyes peeled for the scarred man.

He was nowhere to be found.

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General Grumman sat in the command post, watching the carnage unfold on screen. The reporter from Kol Ha'am had been placed in isolation as a security measure. As each new report came in, Grumman cursed ben-Aish to the lowest portion of Gehinom for all eternity for creating this mess.

'_The hostages are as good as dead. I'll recall the men inside and start firing missiles.'_

And ben-Aish of course refused.

"_Hostages may still be alive, and we need captives to interrogate! No way we leave the building!'_

"I'm the one giving orders here, _colonel!_ You get your men out of there before I start firing the missiles anyway!"

"_Lech la-Azazel! We get out when we achieve our objective!"_

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The terrorists had placed the hostages in rooms with no sharp objects, so they had no weapons, but the storage room had a large supply of plastic bags. When gas started pouring into the rooms, a quick-thinking doctor passed out the bags with theinstruction to tie them over their heads. "We either die from lack of air now, or in five minutes, or we don't die today," he said, before taking a bag for himself. "Remember to stay calm and breath slowly. Im yir'tza hashem, we will all survive."

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The soldiers finally reached a floor that was clear of gas. It was a mixed blessing.

When the first toddler came screaming around the corner, the soldiers barely restrained themselves from shooting. But when the girl lifted her arms to be picked up, the action pulled the pins from the grenades tucked into her armpits. The soldier and girl were both killed in the blast.

The next level up, a young boy walked around a corner, serious faced, with a noose around his neck. Blue light fizzled as the det-cord was ignited, and his head rolled off.

The Crimson Brigade soldiers knew they probablywould not get out alive. Their orders were to create as much horror as possible for the IDF before attempting to escape.

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Scar was hunting for the hostages from inside the vents. Almost all the rooms were clouded with gas, and were fortunately empty. The gas did not penetrate the vents so much due to the air flow. Some did get in, making Scar choke and his eyes water. Breathing was getting hard. He wouldn't be able to handle much more of the gas. Then he found the hostages. He almost missed them in the white swirls except that some of them were moving. How they were still alive was a mystery to him, until he saw the clear coverings over their heads.

But how to rescue them? He couldn't lead them out; the gas would kill him. Then he remembered how he had raced the soldiers to the ground level.

Scar dropped through the ceiling, startling the people in the room. Jumping to a clear area, he placed his hand on the floor, destroying part of it. He jumped down, moved a few feet over, and repeated the process. These rooms luckily had their doors closed, so the gas in the hallway had not seeped in so much.

"Jump down!" he called to the hole above him. A head appeared, looking at him in disbelief, then a pair of legs swung through as the man lowered his body, dropping lightly to the floor, where he removed th bag over his head.

"You're not IDF, but thanks all the same. We thought we would die up there!" The doctor looked around confused. "You don't seem to have any more explosive devices. How do we get out now?"

Scar glanced at him before turning his attention to the ceiling, where more people were dropping through. Soon, all the former captives were standing two levels down from the gas filled rooms. Some gas was beginning to seep in under the door and through the ceiling holes, but not enough to be worried about just then.

Turning his attention back to the doctor, Scar said, "I don't need explosives." He placed his hand on the floor.

Five minutes later, they were running out of a hole in the wall onto the hospital grounds, racing towards freedom and safety.

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"Colonel, the hostages are running out! They're all out!"

"_How?"_

"I don't know, sir. A hole appeared in the wall, and out they come."

"_Is the scarred man with them?"_

Nesher scanned the group, now being surrounded by soldiers and being led towards the medical truck. He was nowhere to be seen.

"That's a negative, sir. It appears to be just doctors and patients."

"_All of them?"_

Herres listened to the report coming in from Kahs.

"No sir. Each guard grabbed five children, then began gassing the rest." Herres listened some more. "There were five guards, so twenty-five children."

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Ben-Aish cursed. They still had two more levels to search for the remaining Crimson Brigade members and their hostages. They had managed to rescue nine of the fifteen from the other three Brigade members. There had been no gas on those floors, probably because the enemy did not want to kill valuable human shields, but the traps had been far more clever.

The entire scenario had probably been planned.

One thing that particularly worried him was their inability to locate the Brigade's commander. _He_ at least would have an escape route planned. The Crimson Brigade was nothing if not meticulous in planning for every contingency, down to a suicidal last stand.

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RxR please.

I give credit to Rapp in 'Transfer of Power', Cheyort in 'Psychic Warrior', d'Anjou in 'The Bourne Supremacy' (the novel), and Jack in 'Time and Tide' for all the great ideas I gleaned for this chapter.

And thank you to all who reviewed. I am now done with my summer courses and work, so I can do a better job with this.


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